Strap for boot and shoe holder

ABSTRACT

A boot and shoe holder that includes a carrying strap that can be folded, and wherein when desired, the strap can be extended to permit the user to insert the arm therethrough.

United States Patent [191 Allsop 1 May 1, 1973 STRAP FOR BOOT AND SHOEPrimary ExaminerPatrick Lawson HOLDER Attorney-Sherman Levy [76]Inventor: Ivor J. Allsop, PO. Box 23, Bellingham, Wash. 98225 22 Filed:May 28, 1971 ABSTRACT [21] Appl, N 147,900 A boot and shoe holder thatincludes a carrying strap that can be folded, and wherein when desired,the strap can be extended to permit the user to insert the [52] U.S. Cl..12/120.5 arm therethrough, I [51] Int. Cl. ..A43d 5/00 [58] Field ofSearch 12/1205 [56] References Cited 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 3,183,535 5/1965 McAusland ....l2/l20.5 3,600,734 8/1971Pollinger ..l2/l20.5

Patented May 1, 1973 3,729,760

a-fir rill/1101111147111; (a. ifIII/IIIII'IIIII/(Z Ive r2 3 ALLsbP BY'&561- ATTORNEY STRAP FOR BOOT AND SHOE HOLDER This invention relates to aboot or shoe holder, and more particularly to a strap for such a bootand shoe holder.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a strap for aboot and shoe holder and wherein the strap can either be arranged in anextended open position to provide clearance for a portion of a personsarm to be extended therethrough, or wherein, when desired, the strap canbe arranged in a retracted folded position.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a strap for aboot and shoe holder wherein there is provided a means for selectivelymaintaining the strap in its folded position, and when the strap is tobe moved to the extended position, the user can readily manuallyseparate the parts to permit the strap to be moved to the desired openposition.

A further object is to provide a boot and shoe holder strap that iseconomical to manufacture and efficient in operation, and which isrugged in structure and foolproof in use.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from areading of the following specification and claims, together with theaccompanying drawing, wherein like parts are referred to and indicatedby like reference characters, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, illustrating the strap on a boot or shoeholder, and showing the strap in a closed position.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the strap in openposition.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the strap, per se.

struction generally similar to that shown in prior U.S.

Pat. No. 3,210,787, Design Patent No. 206,110 and Design Patent No.206,111. The device 10 includes heel and toe retainers 11 and 12, aswell as a frame 13, base 14, movable platform 16, as well as an endportion 17 In accordance with the present invention, there is provided astrap 18 for the holder 10, and as shown in the drawings, the strap 18can be either arranged in a closed folded position as shown in FIGS. 1and 4, or else it can be conveniently and readily moved to an openextended position, as shown in FIG. 2.

The strap 18 is adapted to be made of a suitable material, such asbendable plastic, and comprises first, second and third portions 19, 20and 21. The first and second portions 19 and 20 are interconnected by afold or hinge portion 22, and the second and third portions 20 and 21 ofthe strap are interconnected or joined by a fold or hinge portion 23.The ends or edges of the strap 18 are provided with securing means 25thereon for permitting the strap to be fastened to the end portion 17 ofthe holder 10, and this securing means 25 includes spaced apart oppositesections 28 that have a recess 26 therebetween as well as a retainingportion 27 contiguous thereto.

The first portion 19 of the strap 18 has a lug or projection 29 thereonor formed integral therewith for a purpose to be later described, andthere is provided in the portion 19 a recess 30 that is arrangedadjacent the fold line 22. Arranged on the opposite side of the portion19 from the lug 29 are two sets or pairs of ribs or projections 33 and34. The set of ribs 33 includes spaced parallel projections or ribs 35and 36, and, as shown in the drawings, the rib 36 is slightly largerthan the rib 35. Similarly, the set of ribs 34 include ribs 37 and 38,and the rib 38 is slightly larger than the rib 37.

The second or intermediate portion 20 of the strap is provided with apair of spaced apart openings or apertures 39 and 40 that may have acircular formation.

The third portion 21 of the strap 18 has on one side thereof aprojection or lug 41, as well as a recessed portion or indented portion42. Onthe opposite side of the portion 21 from the projection 41 arespaced apart sets or pairs of ribs 43 and 44. The pair of ribs 43includes projections or ribs 45 and 46 that have a construction suchthat the rib 46 is slightly larger than the rib 45. Similarly, the setof ribs 44 includes a pair of ribs 47 and 48, and the rib 48 is slightlylarger than the rib 47. The numeral 49 indicates a pair of slidable ormovable retainers that are movably mounted on the strap.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that there has been provided a strapfor a member such as a boot and shoe holder and in use with the partsarranged as shown in the drawings, the strap 18 may either be arrangedin a closed position such as that shown in FIGS. 1' and 4, or else itmay be moved to the open extended position as shown in FIG. 2. Theconstruction of the various parts such as the heel and toe retainers l1and 12 are shown and described in prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,210,787, andhence it is not thought necessary to further describe the constructionand operation of such parts in this application. The ends of the strap18 are fixedly secured to the end portion 17 of the device 10 by meansof the retaining means 25, 26, 27 and 28. When the strap 18 is in theforward position, the slidable retainers or sleeves 49 engage theadjacent folded portions of the strap to maintain the strap in a compactclosed position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. At this time, the retainers49 are snugly received between the ribs on the strap to properly centerand hold the retainers in ,their proper location. It is to be noted thatwhen the retainers 49 are in the position of FIGS. 1 and 4 that thesmaller of the ribs is on the outer portion of the strap, while thelarger of the ribs is positioned forwardly. This construction assures orprovides that the larger of the ribs, such as the ribs 36 and 46 and 38and 48 will act as stops to prevent the retainers 49 from being movedforwardly too far along the strap. In addition, with the strap in closedposition, the smaller ribs 35, 45, 37 and 47 are disposed towards theouter ends of the strap and the smaller of these ribs are of a size suchthat the retainers can slide over these smaller ribs and snap in placebetween the proper sets of ribs to locate and maintain the retainers intheir desired location.

When it is desired to extend the strap 18 to a position such as thatshown in FIG. 2, it is only necessary to manually move the retainers 49outwardly so that they can move over the ribs 35, 45, 37 and 47, wherebythe parts of the strap can be readily unfolded or opened to the positionof FIG. 2. With the parts in the open position of FIG. 2 there issufficient clearance for the user to readily insert his or her armwithin the space within the opened strap so that a convenient carryingmeans is provided for the open strap.

With the parts arranged as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, wherein the strap isin closed position, the device can be manually gripped with the fingersaround the strap to conveniently carry the boot and boot holder with theusers hand.

It will be noted that there are further provided interengaging recessesand lugs or projections to properly center and align the parts when theyare in their folded position. Thus, for example, there is provided thelug or projection 29 which extends through the aperture 40 and into therecess 42, as shown in FIG. 4. Similarly, when the strap is in folded orclosed position, the lug 41 extends through the aperture 39 and issnugly received in the recess or extended portion 30.

It is to be noted that the parts can be made of any suitable materialand in different shapes or sizes, as desired or required.

While a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present inventionhas been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that variousmodifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit andthe scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a boot and shoe holder, a strap, said strap being mounted formovement into and out of open extended position, and said strap beingmounted for longitudinal movement into and out of closed foldedposition, said strap when in closed position being spaced from theholder and means for selectively maintaining said strap in closedposition.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the means is manuallyoperable 'to permit the strap to be moved to open position.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1, wherein when said strap is inopen extended position, there is provided suflicient clearance thereinfor the projection therethrough of a portion of the user's arm.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1, wherein when the strap is infolded closed position, the strap can be manually gripped to carry theboot and shoe holder.

5. In a boot and shoe holder including a frame and heel and toeretainers, the improvement consisting in providing a strap of bendablematerial, said strap comprising first, second and third portions joinedtogether by foldable hinge sections, the ends of said strap beingaffixed to the boot and shoe holder, said first portion having a lug andrecess on one side thereof, spaced apart sets of ribs on the oppositeside of the first portion; said second portion having a pair ofapertures therein for registry with the projection and recess when thesecond portion is in folded position contiguous to the first portion;said third portion having a projection and recess on one side thereof,sapced apart sets of ribs on the opposite side of the third portion fromthe lug and recess thereon, and movable retainers mounted on said strapfor engaging said ribs to selectively maintain the strap in closedfolded position.

6. The structure as defined in claim 5, wherein certain of said ribs aresmaller than the other of the ribs to permit the retainers to bemanually moved over the smaller ribs.

1. In a boot and shoe holder, a strap, said strap being mounted formovement into and out of open extended position, and said strap beingmounted for longitudinal movement into and out of closed foldedposition, said strap when in closed position being spaced from theholder and means for selectively maintaining said strap in closedposition.
 2. The structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the means ismanually operable to permit the strap to be moved to open position. 3.The structure as defined in claim 1, wherein when said strap is in openextended position, there is provided sufficient clearance therein forthe projection therethrough of a portion of the user''s arm.
 4. Thestructure as defined in claim 1, wherein when the strap is in foldedclosed position, the strap can be manually gripped to carry the boot andshoe holder.
 5. In a boot and shoe holder including a frame and heel andtoe retainers, the improvement consisting in providing a strap ofbendable material, said strap comprising first, second and thirdportions joined together by foldable hinge sections, the ends of saidstrap being affixed to the boot and shoe holder, said first portionhaving a lug and recess on one side thereof, spaced apart sets of ribson the opposite side of the first portion; said second portion having apair of apertures therein for registry with the projection and recesswhen the second portion is in folded position contiguous to the firstportion; said third portion having a projection and recess on one sidethereof, sapced apart sets of ribs on the opposite side of the thirdportion from the lug and recess thereon, and movable retainers mountedon said strap for engaging said ribs to selectively maintain the strapin closed folded position.
 6. The structure as defined in claim 5,wherein certain of said ribs are smaller than the other of the ribs topermit the retainers to be manually moved over the smaller ribs.